Lucia

(4)

TN: Vision = secret manual.

Hugo hated that she was sick. People opened their mouths left and right, telling him her condition wasn’t normal. Like a parrot, the only thing the doctor Anna said was that she was looking for a cure. Indeed, the old man’s medical skills seemed to be different from other people.

“I have no intention of meeting this doctor. Not only do you dislike the idea of me meeting him, you also don’t want to either. Am I right?” (Lucia)

“…You’re right.”

“Could this doctor have harmed you in the past? Is there a reason to have someone you dislike so much around you?”

There were several complicated reasons why Hugo kept Philip alive. The biggest reason was that he owed him his brother’s life.

“I owe him a life. My brother survived several times thanks to him.”

Of course, there was a secondary reason. Philip knew all of the dirty laundry of the Taran Family. The existence of Philip made Hugo not forget the darkness he had inside. Until the day Philip died, Hugo had to live with the discomfort of his soles treading on sand.

Hugo put up with this as punishment towards himself and atonement towards his late brother. However, no matter the reason, if Philip was ever judged to be dangerous, Hugo would not hesitate to eliminate him.

However, for now, to him, the old man was nothing more than a mere doctor. When the old man opened his mouth, he was infuriating with his ‘bloodline this’ and ‘bloodline that’ but the old man was truly acting according to the will of the late Duke, and as his family had done for generations.

When it came to continuing the lineage, as long as Hugo didn’t cooperate, that was the end of that. And as for meeting Damian, Hugo had completely blocked off that path. So in the end, the old man was just clinging to life.

“I see.” (Lucia)

Lucia’s doubts were dispelled and she felt reassured. The benefactor from her dream was not a bad person.

“But you said he knows the cure.” (Hugo)

“Yes, but you do not trust this doctor. Will you able to trust him with my treatment?”

“…”

An old man who was nothing more than a mere doctor. Even though Hugo belittled Philip this way, he still felt somewhat uneasy. He wouldn’t be relieved at all if he left his wife’s treatment in the old man’s hands. But Philip’s medical skills were true. The old man wasn’t one to say he could treat something when he couldn’t.

“To be honest, I know the cure.” (Lucia)

“What?”

“Well, I missed the chance to tell you at first. And after that I was angry at you telling me to treat it at all costs so I didn’t tell you. What I mean is, I don’t need the doctor’s help.”

“…”

Hugo felt both relieved and absurd. His feelings were complicated. The more he knew about her, the more mysterious she felt. His wife was mild and gentle. But at unexpected times, she broke off that mold and threw him off balance.

“I am not sick. I have no problem in my daily life and my health is fine. I can treat it at any time and not treating it is of my own will.”

“Is it because of me? Because I said I don’t want a child…”

“I understand where you’re coming from. So it’s fine. We can take our time and think it over. If you don’t want to then I don’t want to either. But I won’t treat it without telling you first.”

‘But…your body isn’t the problem.’

Hugo couldn’t bring himself to tell her she couldn’t have a child.

‘If she knows, she might leave me.’

He felt like he was slowly sinking into a muddy pit with depths unknown.

‘Why was I born with this body?’

Until now, he had thought it was fortunate that he couldn’t leave a descendant behind. But now, he realized it was a curse. A curse that did not allow him to have a normal family with the woman he loved like other people could.

He recalled the face of his brother telling him that there was a woman he wanted to marry. If his brother knew his son was born, would be still be happy after learning the secrets behind his son’s birth?

He would. If it was his brother, he would accept it and think only of the happiness in the future.

Rather, Hugo envied his brother. The guy fell in love without knowing it was his stepsister and died without knowing till the end. If he had to perform the sickening act of feeding his blood to someone else, Hugo didn’t want a child. He felt like the moment he did that, he would really become a monster.

It was already too late to use this method with her anyways but even if he could, he didn’t want to.

“You can do as you like.” (Hugo)

Her treatment was completely out of his hands. Hugo couldn’t tell her to treat it or not treat it. He didn’t want to give her hope of getting pregnant by telling her to treat it, and he didn’t want her to think he was against having children by telling her not to treat it.

“Come here.”

Hugo spread his arms. Lucia gave a small laugh and stood up from the sofa to walk towards him. When she got within his reach, he pulled her into his embrace.

She fell onto his legs with a thump and Hugo wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled his head in her ample breasts.

“Anything else happen?” (Hugo)

“No. Ah…there was a letter from Damian.”

“…A letter comes every day.”

“It’s not every day. It’s once or twice a month.”

Once Damian became the topic of conversation, Lucia’s eyes began to twinkle. Hugo was still not pleased by her excessive attention to the boy. But as time passed, he became more understanding of their mother-son bond and was more forgiving.

“What did the boy say?”

“He said he’s doing well.”

Lucia began to bombard him with details of Damian’s Academy life that she’d read from the letter. Hugo chuckled as he remembered the report he received some time ago. It said that the boy wore the red scarf she sent him every day until the weather got warmer.

“You said that when you saw Damian for the first time, you felt like you were seeing me, right?”

“Yes. It felt like I was seeing you as a child.”

Her as a child. How would it feel to see a little child that was the very painting of her childhood? How would a child without evidence of his cursed blood, without black hair or red eyes, look? Hugo’s chest tightened.

He could give her an abundance of wealth and power but he couldn’t give her a child. What if this hurt her later on? What could he do if she implored him to have a child? Hugo felt as though he was wandering an eternal maze with no way to get out.

Translator’s Corner:

* Dirty laundry = dirty secrets.

*Oh and uh…you guys are going to love/hate the next part…